cotehele - I only use the Zo for mixing/kneading - it replaces what my hands used to do. I used to slowly add the flour into the liquid ingredients, and beat the mixture by-hand using a Danish Dough Whisk, and using as many as 500-700 strokes to develop as much gluten as possible while the dough was in the bowl. This cut down on kneading time and made a finer bread. When making dough by hand, properly mixing the ingredients is an important step people tend to rush through and not do a good job. If a shaggy lump of dough is tossed on the counter for kneading, then there wasn't enough time spent incorporating the flour into the liquid ingredients, and not enough gluten was developed before beginning the kneading. When it comes to using the bread machine, I rarely allow the dough to rise in the bread machine, preferring to use a dough-rising bucket so I can make sure the dough doesn't over-proof. Dough doesn't tell time, and all the rises are according to time on the machines. Dough ACTUALLY rises based on the ambient temperature, humidity, amount of sugar/sweetener in the dough, and the strength of the yeast. A timed rise is just a good (or bad) guess. It's especially important when using 100% whole wheat flour to keep the dough to just UNDER "double" for the rise. Whole wheat doesn't have the extensibility bleached and unbleached flour does, so allowing the dough to rise to double is actually over-proofing it. If I'm not getting a good oven-spring, that means the dough was over-proofed during one or both of the rises and the yeast was spent before it hit the oven - which seems to happen when I leave the dough in the bread machine to rise. When I use the QUICK DOUGH cycle, I can have dough in about 30 minutes. This includes pre-heating, mixing and kneading. There is also an add-in beep (about 25-minutes into the cycle) so you can add raisins, multi-grain cereal, etc. Placing dough in a dough-rising bucket is a perfect little environment for it, normally taking anywhere from 20-45 minutes to rise (depending on the ambient temperature and the type of dough). I may decide to toss it in the refrigerator for a nice long, slow, cool rise to really develop the flavors. It's nice to have options. If using the BASIC DOUGH SETTING, it takes 67-minutes for 2 rises (45-minutes for the first, stir down, and 22-minutes for the second) for a total of 1:50 for the entire cycle. So I save a lot of time there. I can cut that time by 45-minutes to an hour. Not that speed is everything, it's not, unless you are trying to get out several recipes in a 5-hour bake-a-thon. I also never make less than 2 to 2-1/2+ pounds of dough at a time. I can make 2-3 small loaves, or divide the dough for 1 loaf, 6 sticky pecan rolls, and a pan of dinner rolls (or 6 hamburger buns, or 6 hot dog buns) - all from one recipe of dough. I can program my Zo, but I never have (I hate messing with electronics). I generally use the QUICK DOUGH setting - no rising in the bread machine. That's the nice thing about a Zo, you can use it however you like, personalize the cycles to suit your recipes, and use whatever cycle works out best for you. I have a friend who programs hers for specific breads she makes. She sells her breads, so she has using the Zo down to a fine art. Choose to use the dough cycles or bake the loaf in it. Different strokes, different folks. I do an overnight sponge for our "Everyday Bread", so the Quick Dough Cycle is perfect because most of the work was done overnight in the sponge. The flavors developed, the acidic kefir (or buttermilk) provide lactic acid to break down complex starches and irritating tannins in the wholegrain flour, and make the finished loaf easier to digest. Soaking also increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in grains more available. The sponge also makes the bread lighter in texture and color and I get a nice high rise not typical to loaves of 100% whole wheat bread when made with a fast mixing method associated with most of today's recipes and methods incorporated when using a bread machine. The Zo X-20 has a Sourdough cycle, but once again, it's timed and I'd never use it for rising the dough. All starters are different. Some are stronger than others, so 120-minutes for a rise may be too long, or not long enough. So for naturally-leavened breads, I use the bread machine for mixing and kneading, but never for the rise. -Grainlady

Wow, super-mom. I was wondering if your heavy use is due to a large family or small home business ... Impressive to do so much from scratch and so much healthier. I have no appliances on the counters. My kitchen often looks like it does not involve cooking at all. Especially in the mornings. Starting any cooking project or experiment i need it empty and clean, dishwasher empty and sink clear. I'm constantly tweaking how it might work better. Our kitchen does have 4 seasons. Evolves throughout the year....baking more in the colder months, marble slab is out now replaced by a second cutting board in the spring. Sometimes all 4 seasons in one weekend. Like the recent 3 day holiday weekend during a snow storm. The mixer was out all weekend, and the juicer, and all three blender containers and a full counter of spices and seeds and flours. Just took a zippy 20 minutes to put it all away and douche the place. By monday afternoon it became a pasta making factory for dinner later, then a meat market, grinding for sausage. Even if i baked everyday, i would have to move it from the main baking area to give it a cleaning and start fresh as ingredients change with each project. Husband is a slob, but does agree about the kitchen. He makes coffee in the mornings and tends the dogs. Uses that time to meditate and 'zen' the kitchen. But that is our solution for peace and harmony. : ) His stuff and tools are everywhere all the time. Rarely puts anything away. Our solution? I have a half dozen heavy llbean canvas bags. One is by his office door, door shut, lol. I just put his 'stuff' in it. If he can't find anything, that is a good place to check first. It is always full. He empties it occasionally. Another bag by the stairs to downstairs where all the stuff and my stuff goes. I always thought the lift was a good idea but i could never actually use it on the platform. I need my mixer with ingredients right next to it, not behind it. Even in the photo flour is on the platform, so it is also all over the floor. Much easier to wipe the counter than the floor. I don't read panic or insanity in your written voice. Just looking for a way to make it work. I would leave it out for a few weeks on the island. You might just find it is a bugger-bear. Gotta move it to clean. Might as well move to the backsplash home. Think of it as a 'cleansing' for organizing thoughts and the next project. Make and bake three days worth of meals in a day and freeze. (i'm sure you do that)...but give the kitchen a break for a day or two a week, and keeping the island clear will keep the family in check. One rule, island clear. One thing i did was take a couple heirloom trays from my Grandmother and put hardware store lazy susans on the bottom. They are in my pantry but are easy to haul out to the work counter. One has smalls like vanilla, nutmeg nuts, etc. The other has my most used seeds and nuts and some baking supplies. I can leave those trays out all weekend but easy to carry and put away. I have one rule. Breakfast table clear always. Here it is after the weekend... : )

The tilt heads are the lower power models handling up to 8 or 9 cups of flour at a time. The lift bowl models have higher power and handle 11 to 14 cups of flour depending on the model. I don't think there is much difference in bowl access but I've always used a bowl-lift model - if I drop the bowl, I can get in to scrape the sides when needed. Both the tilt head and bowl lift KAs use a planetary beater motion and a stationary bowl. It doesn't need much scraping as the beater covers the bowl well when properly adjusted.

That's a good deal. Cooks Illustrated rated the KA 7 speed hand mixer as the best, this should be even better. I got one like it a few months ago and I'm very pleased. I wouldn't do bread dough with a hand mixer, but for everything else, it's wonderful. The angled handle is very comfy.